The present invention relates generally to manipulating images on a computer screen, and more particularly, to methods of rotating, scaling and otherwise altering the image of an object on the screen using an icon-based tool.
As the use of computers becomes more widespread throughout society, greater emphasis is placed on the user interface. One popular approach to simplifying the user interface is to display various graphical items on the computer's display screen. The displayed items commonly take the form of icons, menus and/or windows. When the user desires to perform or initiate a task represented by the displayed item, the user merely selects the icon or the like representing the desired task.
In graphics applications, it is often desirable to manipulate images displayed on the screen of a computer system. For example, a user may wish to rotate or scale (size) an image. Commonly, these functions are accomplished by selecting the items to be manipulated and then entering a suitable keyboard command that indicates the angle by which the image should be rotated, or the factor by which the image should be scaled. Alternatively, some applications require that the user choose the desired scaling or rotation function from a menu and then "stretch" or "rotate" the items through the use of a screen pointer which grabs a "gravity point" or "handle" on the selected item and then scales or rotates the image as a function of the pointer's movement. While such approaches have worked suitably in the past, there are continuing efforts to simplify the user interface, especially for inexperienced users, who often find it difficult to remember which commands or operations are required to conduct a particular operation.